Episode 105: Pimp My Game: Metagaming

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

“I’m searching the room again. Why? Because I rolled a 1 and you said I didn’t find anything, but I know something has to be here, so my thief’s going to search the room again until I get a better result.”

In the first episode of our new Pimp My Game series, we tackle the bane of many roleplaying games: metagaming. We discuss three common metagaming issues and offer some solutions to try when they pop up at your table.

If you have an issue or a question you’d like us to address on an upcoming Pimp My Game episode, feel free to email us, post it to our Facebook page, contact us on Twitter, or just leave it in the comments below. Thanks.

Episode 104: Creature Feature: Politicians

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

“Four score and seven days ago, I did not have sex with that woman. My opponents have brought forth these allegations to distract the nation from the problems of slavery and secession.” – Abraham Lincoln

In this episode, we talk about politicians, the media, and bureaucracy.

Episode 103: Prequels

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

Peter Parker before being bitten by a radioactive spider, the first 33 years of Frodo Baggins’ life, moisture farming on Tatooine. Aren’t these the stories that we should be telling?

In this episode, we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of running a prequel and the different ways that you can do so.

Episode 102: Locales: Tokyo Part2

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

“When you’re young, Roppongi is where your dreams can happen, and when you’re old, it’s kind of like where your dreams go to die.”

In Part 2, we take you on a tour of Tokyo. Get your freak on, your geek on, your chic on. It’s Tokyo, gaijin; anything can happen.

Episode 101: Locales: Tokyo Part 1

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

In this twist on our Locales series, we take a real world city and explore what elements it would offer games set there. We start with one near(ish) to our hearts: Tokyo. Learn all about what it’s like to be a Japanese woman on a crowded Tokyo train! From three (mostly) white foreigners who live in Kansai!

In Part 1, we cover the people, power and culture of one of the world’s most populous cities.

Cortex Plus Hacker’s Guide

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Lyal

We’re planning to help kickstart this “anthology of ways to use Cortex Plus from MWP’s award-winning Leverage & Smallville RPGs: hacks, settings, and options“. It looks really good in its own right. However, we’re really excited about the possibility of a Marvel Heroic Roleplaying fantasy hack. (Those who listened to Gladiators know why.) Unfortunately, it’s a $25,000 stretch goal.
They are over $20,000 with two weeks to go, but we don’t want to leave anything to chance. If you are at all interested in any of these games, the book looks well worth the $10-25 price. If you don’t support this product, many children will grow up not knowing the pleasures of playing gladiators with the MRH system.

Episode 100: Warriors: Gladiators

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

Jupiter’s middle leg! Has it been C episodes already? Gratitude for listening. At times, words fell from our mouths as crap from ass. However, we pray we offered some manner of good advice on other occasions. We plan to continue as long as desire wills our tongues.

In episode C, we offer another installment of Warriors. Here we discuss Gladiators, the brotherhood of the stadium.

Episode 99: GM Tools: Set Pieces

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

Rejected lines from The Empire Strikes Back and proof that GMs really need to think about what they want to accomplish with their scenes:
“Luke, when a man and woman love each other, they hug very tightly…”
“If you thought the trash compactor was a tight squeeze, you should’ve seen your mother…”
“Luke! Meeza Jar Jar Binks. Yourza faza, Darza Vada, asksa me to tella you…”

In our first episode of 2013, we debut a new series: GM Tools. In this episode, we look at set pieces, vignettes and boxed text. In order to provide concrete examples that everyone can follow, we use the original Star Wars trilogy as our example “campaign”.

Episode 98: 2012 Wrap Up

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

In our last episode of the year, we look at the gaming stories of 2012 that we liked and didn’t like. D&D Next manages to make both lists.

Episode 97: Creature Feature: Fairies

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Idle Red Hands

In this installment of Creature Features, we get in the Christmas spirit (kind of) and talk about fairies, except for elves (okay, not at all). We discuss different elements you can use in your game, which apparently includes David Bowie’s bulging crotch (all that Wayne remembered from Labyrinth).
We also finally settle the question of which was the best superhero movie of 2012: The Dark Knight Rises or The Avengers.

Lyal tries a new microphone and literally sounds like he’s phoning it in instead of metaphorically (as usual). Funny how the microphone picks up the sound of ice dropping into a glass from three metres away with perfect clarity, but struggles to pick up a voice from three centimetres away. Looks like it’s back to the sound board.